Kitsap Officials Wary of Bills With Added Costs in the Legislature

County officials are watching bills before the Legislature that have the potential to affect their own coffers.

The county has a watch list of bills they’re keeping tabs on. Four of the five they’re looking at most closely have had their hearings in Olympia or have one scheduled.

“The top priority is going to be avoiding any new costs and trying to find flexibility for the dollars we’ve got,” said Steve Bauer, Kitsap County commissioner.

Before the session started, legislative leaders and the governor said they’d be as conscious about local budgets as they are about their own.

The list of bills the county is following seems to bear that out.

In a document provided by the Kitsap County’s Olympia lobbyist, Tom McBride, the highest items listed were labeled “Medium Priority Bills.” Nothing was considered “high priority.”

One of the two bills already heard, though, would cost counties and cities undergoing zoning changes. Former County Commissioner Jan Angel, now a Republican representing the 26th District in the House, wants local governments to notify residents by mail when their properties are being considered for rezoning.

Initial reaction locally was somewhat mute, but County Commissioner Josh Brown said anything that adds costs is likely to be opposed by the Washington State Association of Counties.

The bill was heard Monday in the House Local Government & Housing Committee. No future hearings have been set.

A Commerce Department study estimates that the bill would cost local governments more than $50,000 — possibly more than $500,000 — annually to implement, counting staff time, materials and postage.

Gig Harbor Democratic Sen. Derek Kilmer’s bill that would let developers use a tool similar to local improvement districts to fund infrastructure construction in new developments is scheduled to be heard Wednesday in the Senate Committee on Economic Development and Trade & Innovation.

Kilmer has said the law change could spark development, which means more construction workers would be working in places where it might otherwise be stalled.

A bill to consolidate the state’s three Growth Management Hearings Board into one has already been heard in the House and will be heard at 10 a.m. Monday in the Senate Committee on Government Operations & Elections.

The proposal is one of many offered by Gov. Chris Gregoire to reorganize state government, protect the environment and spend less doing it.

Bauer favors such a move, saying it makes board decisions more understandable. He also recognized the cost savings.

“I think the governor’s trying to streamline and save state money and I think that’s commendable,” he said.

House Bill 2388, co-sponsored by state Rep. Sherry Appleton, D-Poulsbo, attempts to stabilize public health financing for local jurisdictions. The bill would establish a state public health improvement account that would grant each health jurisdiction at least $100,000 and another allocation based on population.

The biggest newsmaker in the bill, however, is that would add candy to the list of items subject to state sales tax.

The final of five bills the county is watching, HB 2473, would only apply to Pierce County and would let it ask voters for a sales-tax increase for obtaining and improving park space.